Deputy Chairperson of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina and member of the Executive Intelligence Committee, Staša Košarac, stated that, according to information from the Intelligence and Security Agency of BiH (OSA BiH), the information of State Defense Minister Zukan Helez about the alleged possible escape of Republika Srpska President Milorad Dodik from BiH is not correct.
Košarac met with the director and deputy director of the OSA of BiH, Almir Džuvo and Risto Zarić, regarding the allegations recently made public by the Minister of Defense of BiH.
“I received information from the leadership of OSA BiH that the information provided by Minister Helez is incorrect and that there is no intelligence information about the alleged escape of the President of Republika Srpska Milorad Dodik, as the current Defense Minister of BiH publicly claims. OSA BiH disassociates itself from the publicly stated views of Minister Helez,” Košarac pointed out.
He emphasized that these are untrue, inaccurate and speculative claims by Minister Helez, who, as Košarac said, uses disinformation for political purposes in his narrative.
“Publicizing inaccurate information and complete untruths can be characterized as the evil intention of Minister Helez with the aim of collapsing the institution of the President of Republika Srpska and discrediting Milorad Dodik personally,” Košarac said.
He assessed that it is high time that political officials and holders of public functions take responsibility for their publicly expressed views, especially when they do not correspond to the factual situation and are aimed at discrediting other personalities.
“Given the fact that Minister Helez spread misinformation to the public, I expect him to withdraw such claims, and to publicly and personally apologize to Milorad Dodik,” said Košarac.